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After Last Season’s Early Exit, Nebraska Volleyball Has Something To Prove

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The Nebraska women’s volleyball team continues to dominate the Big Ten and the sport itself. But last season’s early exit in pursuit of a national championship leaves the team wanting more. 

The Cornhuskers finished the year 33-1 after an upset loss to No. 7 seed Texas A&M – who went on to win the national championship – in the Elite Eight regional finals last year. The defeat kept Nebraska out of the national semifinals for the first time since 2002. 

The early exit came as a shock to Cornhuskers’ fans, who had grown accustomed to their semifinals’ appearance for years on end. But the players responded with a second consecutive season with no outgoing transfers and key retention ahead of the 2026 season. If it’s time to prove any sort of volleyball dominance, now seems like a good time. 

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Under second-year coach Dani Busboom Kelly and plenty of key pieces returning, the Cornhuskers are back in full force to reclaim volleyball dominance. 

Entering the season as the No. 1 team in the nation, Nebraska returned stars like outside hitters Harper Murray and Skyler Pierce, setter Bergen Reilly and middle blocker Andi Jackson. Reilly and Jackson finished the year with AVCA First-Team All-American honors.

Murray led the team in kills with 379 and added 34 service aces. Jackson trailed Murray with her 288 kills and 16 total service aces. 

What’s also worth noting is that Nebraska spent around $7 million on their 2026 roster – the most of any NCAA women’s volleyball program. While the Cornhuskers had zero outgoing transfers for a second season in a row, Nebraska brought in transfer opposite Allie Sczech from Baylor, who’s primed to help fill the roles of Rebekah Allick and Taylor Landfair, after exhausting their eligibility. 

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Allie Sczech (3) and Nebraska women's volleyball celebrate a point. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)

Allie Sczech (3) and Nebraska women’s volleyball celebrate a point. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)

The Cornhuskers have appeared in the national semifinals 18 total times, and have six appearances in the championship game. However, Nebraska has not won a national title since 2017, when it defeated Florida 3-1. 

This season, the Cornhuskers open up their season with a competitive nonconference slate as the nation’s No. 1 ranked team. On Sunday, Nebraska will face No. 2 Texas for a renewed rivalry at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The matchup marks the first time the two powerhouses have met since the 2023 national championship, when Texas defeated the Cornhuskers in straight sets.

A win over the Longhorns would be a strong start for the Cornhuskers’ 2026 campaign and their journey to a national title. 

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Roberto De Zerbi apologises for Newcastle defeat but insists Spurs ‘will not panic’

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Roberto De Zerbi has apologised for Tottenham’s dire start to the new Premier League season but insists the club will not panic after back-to-back losses.

Spurs succumbed to another bruising defeat on Saturday as Newcastle came away from north London with a 2-0 win, with reborn stars Yoane Wissa and Anthony Elanga on the scoresheet.

It comes after the disastrous opening loss to Brentford, with Spurs now sitting rock bottom in the table despite spending £320m in the summer.

De Zerbi has stressed that after only just avoiding relegation last term, Tottenham cannot expect to flip their fortunes around in the space of one transfer window and is not dwelling on the early bad results.

“We will not panic,” he told Sky Sports. “I know very well where we are going, what the plan is and what difficult problems we could find in our way.

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“I am sorry for the fans and sorry for the players for the result but we have to improve and to change two seasons like the last two is impossible in 10 days and with people in the transfer market.

“ We have to work hard on the pitch and find the connection with the players because last season before the end of the season we were in the Championship and we stayed up together.

“Now we have to keep clam and focus on improvement. We have a great squad and great players, we can’t use all the players we brought but if we work in this way and believe in ourselves I think we will change the last two seasons.

“If the rush is more important than the journey we can’t find the solutions to the last two seasons.”

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Roberto De Zerbi is not panicking after another defeat for Spurs
Roberto De Zerbi is not panicking after another defeat for Spurs (Reuters)

With Tottenham’s terrible home record bleeding into a new season, De Zerbi told fans to “forget the result” and believed his side were the better team for much of the game.

“Disappointed for the result because until the first goal we conceded I think we played better than Newcastle,” he told BBC Sport.

“We lost ball possession in the first half because we didn’t defend in the right way, the distance between the defenders and attackers was too big.

“We can improve in the defensive phases but today was an unfair result.”

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Irish Premiership: In-form quartet all win to snap at the heels of leaders Coleraine – story of the day

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For Dungannon Swifts, the most obvious improvement has been the manner in which they have recovered from their opening day defeat.

Rodney McAree’s side began the campaign with a 3-1 home loss against Coleraine, but have responded with victories over Portadown, Bangor and Cliftonville.

That represents a significant improvement on last season when the Swifts made a really concerning start to the campaign and lost their opening five league fixtures.

Dungannon have secured a top six finish for the past two seasons and manager Rodney McAree will want to repeat the feat this term.

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Midfielder Sean McAllister has already stood out, scoring three goals so far and has been heavily involved when the Swifts push into the final third.

New signings such as Kris Lowe have also impressed with former Portadown boss Niall Currie saying the Swifts side is the “strongest” it has ever been, as they aim to seal another chance at European football.

“I look at Rodney McAree’s squad now and, to me, this is the strongest Dungannon squad there has been,” Currie said on Sportsound.

“Rodney has gone out and got strength and depth. Some of the players who are not even making the squad at the minute for the Swifts are a lot of players who would certainly have started a few years ago.”

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It wasn’t good,” “I probably would’ve d*ed

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WWE legend Brock Lesnar officially retired from professional wrestling, but The Beast Incarnate’s legacy in the industry is hard to replicate. A rising star recently recalled he was nervous before taking an F5.

Earlier this year, Je’Von Evans moved to WWE’s main roster and joined Monday Night RAW under Triple H’s creative leadership. The Young OG soon crossed paths with Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia, when they competed in the gimmick match.

While neither won the match, Evans experienced The Beast Incarnate’s F5 for the first time in his career. Speaking on Rosenberg Wrestling’s Cheap Heat, the 22-year-old WWE star opened up about his time in the ring with Brock Lesnar in Saudi Arabia.

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Peter Rosenberg asked Evans about the F5, and The Young OG stated it wasn’t good. The 22-year-old WWE star shared a funny incident, revealing the former three-time Universal Champion’s brute strength as wrestlers were instructed not to jump when Lesnar attempted to suplex them.

“I did. It wasn’t good… Funny story, he [Brock Lesnar] comes in the ring suplexing everybody… I was confident, but at the same time, I was nervous too because I never took the F5 before. I remember somebody was talking about it before the show, like, ‘If Brock comes in the ring and he gives you a suplex, he’s going to toss you. Do not jump.’ I was just eavesdropping… I get up, and I’m like, ‘Let’s see if I can do something.’ Right when I try to swing, he snatches behind me. I’m like, ‘Oh no.’ But I’m telling you, if I would’ve jumped, I probably would’ve d*ed. Oh yeah. For sure. I was in the air,” Evans said.

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Luckily, Je’Von Evans doesn’t have to take the move again, as Brock Lesnar officially retired from in-ring competition.


WWE Hall of Famer defended Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar‘s glorious career as an in-ring performer ended at SummerSlam in Minnesota when he lost a Hell in a Cell match to Oba Femi. The Beast Incarnate can finally spend quality time with his family, and the multi-time WWE World Champion has closed an important chapter of his life.

Speaking on Six Feet Under with The Undertaker, The Phenom praised Brock Lesnar’s work in the industry and defended him against those who criticized the three-time Universal Champion’s work or schedule in the company.

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If you use quotes from the article, please credit Rosenberg Wrestling and provide an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.